Chapter Text
Sans doesn’t have to open his eyes to know Red is watching him. He can feel the gaze that’s fixated on him, like a lion sizing up its prey, only he hopes Red isn’t about to make him his next meal. Or maybe he does.
“good morning,” Sans says hoarsely with a smile, his eyes still closed.
“mornin beautiful,” Red replies.
“why are you watching me sleep?” Sans asks.
“cause i just can’t get enough ‘a ya,” Red tells him. Sans opens his eyes and tries to sit up, only to be stopped by Red’s teeth on his own. Red holds Sans’ skull in his hands, pressing their faces together in a kiss that seems to linger forever. When Red finally pulls away he chuckles and says “‘n yer a helluva lot nicer ta look at than the asshole i was sharin a cell with.”
Red has been home for four days now, and the novelty of having him back hasn’t worn off yet. Sans has stuck to his husband’s side like gum on the bottom of your shoe, and Red has been more than happy to let him. There has been a lot of cuddling on the couch with Ollie in their arms, stolen kisses at every opportunity, even a sensual shower together after the kids had gone to sleep one night. The one thing there hasn’t been, however, is any talk about what happened. In fact, Red mentioning his cellmate is the first time anything related to the last few weeks has been brought up, and Sans is a little taken aback by it. But it’s opened up an opportunity for Sans to ask a lot of questions he wants answers to.
“what would have happened if you didn’t get out?” Sans asks. Red nuzzles into him and presses a kiss to his zygomatic.
“i did get out, so ya don’t gotta worry about it,” Red responds.
“but i am worried about it. what if something happens again? i should know what to do, don’t you think?” Sans protests.
“baby…”
“red, please,” Sans begs. “you have no idea how hard it was without you here and all the shit i had to deal with. at least give me this.”
“like what?”
“don’t change the subject,” Sans says crossly.
“alright, alright,” Red responds. He grabs Sans’ hands and starts rubbing Sans’ phalanges with his thumb. “i got enough money put away where you ‘n the kids woulda been set fer a long time. sal knows how ta get it to ya.”
“and what if something happens to sal?”
“i got fallbacks,” Red explains. “plus i woulda transferred the bar inta yer name. i got people who handle the real work. all ya’d hafta do is sit back ‘n enjoy the profits.”
“why didn’t you ever tell me you owned that bar?” Sans asks.
“i dunno, babe, cause i don’t want ya worryin about my business,” Red tells him.
“do you not trust me?”
“‘a course i trust ya,” Red says. “but ya already do so much fer me here. i don’t wanna put any more stress on ya.”
“if you didn’t want to put more stress on me then you shouldn’t have gotten arrested,” Sans states coldly.
“hey now that ain’t fair. if ya’d just tell me what happened i can try ta fix it,” Red argues. Through the baby monitor they hear Ollie start to cry, and Sans pulls his hands away from Red and climbs out of bed. “sit back down. we ain’t done talkin,” Red demands, but Sans keeps going.
“i need to go get ollie,” Sans says dismissively, then leaves the room.
Ollie cries until the second he’s in Sans’ arms, where he coos and flashes him a big smile. Sans nuzzles his skull against Ollie’s, tickling him and making him giggle, which makes Sans smile back. His husband may be an asshole, but their son is the greatest thing that ever happened to him.
Red is waiting for Sans in the kitchen when he brings Ollie downstairs, leaning against the counter by the sink with his arms crossed. He doesn’t say anything, but instead just watches Sans as he puts Ollie in his highchair and takes a container of baby food out of the refrigerator.
“did you need something?” Sans asks his husband as he sits down in front of Ollie and starts spooning his homemade apple banana puree into Ollie’s mouth.
“i need ya ta not walk away from me when i’m tryin ta have a conversation with ya,” Red grumbles.
“my son is more important than a conversation that’s going to go nowhere,” Sans states.
“he’s our son, ‘n if you don’t want me ta help ya then don’t bitch ta me about bein stressed out,” Red says. “‘n stop tryin ta guilt trip me fer gettin arrested when it ain’t my fault!”
“are you fucking kidding me? it is absolutely your fault,” Sans shrieks so loud that Ollie starts crying. He lifts him out of his highchair and holds him to his chest despite the smear of apple banana mush that is all over Ollie’s face and now Sans’ shirt. “shhh, please don’t cry, baby. i’m sorry,” Sans says to him as he bounces him up and down.
“was that really worth makin him cry?” Red says.
“shut up, red,” Sans retorts.
“don’t ya dare tell me ta shut up!” Red bellows as he takes a threatening step towards him. Sans recoils, holding Ollie even closer.
“s-sorry,” Sans stutters. Red sighs and leans back against the counter again.
“i’m just tryin ta help ya, honey,” Red says calmly. “but ya gotta be willin ta talk ta me. i gave ya some honest answers, now ya need ta do the same fer me.”
Sans nods nervously in agreement then puts Ollie back in his highchair and sits back down in his own seat. Red comes up behind him and places a hand on Sans’ scapula, gently rubbing it with his distals. Distressed as he is, Sans starts to think about how much he longed for that touch when Red was gone and tears start welling up in his sockets that soon are streaming down his maxilla.
“i... it’s just…” Sans says through the tears.
“it’s alright, baby. why don’tcha go upstairs ‘n collect yerself fer a few minutes, yeah? i’ll worry about feedin ollie ‘n gettin the boys breakfast when they get up,” Red offers.
“you don’t h-have to. i can-”
“go, sansy,” Red says gently, though it’s more a demand than a suggestion. He places a kiss on Sans' frontal bone just before Sans rises to his feet.
Sans is still crying as he closes his bedroom door behind him, feeling foolish for trying to argue with Red. He was so used to just dealing with things on his own for the last few weeks that he failed to realize he doesn’t have to anymore. If anyone can fix everything that’s gone wrong it’s Red. Though Sans doesn’t necessarily agree with his methods, Red always has a way of making things better. Sans just needs to let him do it and not ask any questions and then they can all go back to being happy.
Sans lays down on his bed and buries his head in his pillow. He can hear Papyrus and Edge talking in the hallway and knows he should really go back downstairs to make them breakfast so Red doesn’t have to do it, but he’s already made his husband mad enough this morning and doesn’t want to make it worse by disobeying him.
It’s times like these when Sans has to remind himself about the way his life used to be. Sometimes Red can be a lot to handle, but even at his worst (or what qualifies as his worst these days, not who he was before Ollie came along) he still loves him and will never forget the ditch Red pulled him out of. For that he owes him devotion and loyalty and obedience, and what he gets in return is a man who is crazy about him and only wants to give him and their children the best, even though sometimes he scares Sans a little.
Sans wants to stop crying, he really does, but everything he’s pushed to the back of his mind since Red has been home seems to have come bubbling back up. He has to tell Red about what happened with Edge at the school, and he doesn’t want to but knows he should tell him about all the awful things people were saying about them. They were the neighborhood pariahs now, after all.
Anyone’s guess is as good as Sans’ as to how Red is going to handle that, though. Red tends to turn to either money or violence to solve his problems, and beating up the whole neighborhood or throwing them all a fat stack of cash didn’t seem plausible.
Sans lays in bed for a while, trying to will the tears to stop. Just when he finally starts to settle down, taking a few deep, shaky breaths and wiping the last of the tears away with his phalanges, the door creaks open and in walks Red with Ollie in his arms, the baby’s skull resting on Red’s sternum with his eyes gently shut.
“ya okay, sweetheart?” Red asks quietly, sitting down beside Sans and rubbing a distal down the side of his skull.
“i think so,” Sans tells him. “i’m sorry.”
“it’s alright, honey. i can imagine how worked up ya are after everythin ya’ve had ta deal with,” Red says. “now if yer ready ta talk about it i’d like ta know what happened so i can make ya feel better.”
“okay,” Sans sighs. “i guess i just... i realized that i’m pathetic, and can’t handle anything on my own.”
“that ain’t true, baby,” Red says, putting a reassuring hand on Sans’ femur.
“yes it is! i could barely handle the boys and i didn’t know what to do when ollie wouldn’t stop crying, and when edge got in trouble at school i had no idea how to deal with it,” Sans laments, the waterworks starting up again.
“what happened with edge at school?”
“he drew something that the teachers said was inappropriate,” Sans tells him.
“like a dick er somethin?” Red asks, cracking a slight smile.
“wha- no!” Sans replies. “he drew someone being murdered by someone else.”
“oh,” Red says quietly.
“and they asked me where he would have seen such a thing and i told them i didn’t know, and then when i tried to get him to talk to me about it he didn’t want to and i didn’t know what to do so i just dropped it, but the school tried to tell me we need to put him in therapy!” Sans informs his husband. Red studies him for a moment.
“ta be honest with ya, honey, that probably ain’t the worst idea,” Red states.
“what the hell does he need therapy for?” Sans asks. Red looks away for a moment, then nuzzles his cheekbone against the top of Ollie’s skull. He takes his time answering in that way Sans knows he always does when he’s trying to avoid telling the truth about something.
“ah, well sansy. shit ain’t always been rosy fer us. edgy’s seen some shit a kid ain’t supposed ta see,” Red tells him.
“he’s seen someone get murdered?!” Sans clamors. Sans watches Red as he gently places Ollie down on the bed on his back then lays down beside him, curling his body protectively around his sleeping child.
“it don’t matter,” Red murmurs.
“i beg to differ,” Sans objects. “if you want me to be his parent and stand up for him with the school and help him when you’re not around then it absolutely matters. i can’t help him if i don’t know what he’s been through.”
“alright. yer right,” Red sighs then pauses for a moment. “tell me somethin, babe. before i found ya, if someone had threatened paps what would you’a done?” Red has his olecranon propped up on the bed with his skull in his hand, his free hand resting on Ollie’s little ribcage. He looks down at Ollie as he speaks, but Sans can see a dangerous glint in his husband’s eyelights.
“i... whatever i had to do to keep him safe.”
“exactly. which is what i did for edge. sometimes that meant eliminatin a threat,” Red explains.
“are you… are you saying you’ve killed someone?!” Sans asks.
“yes, sansy. i have,” Red admits. Sans jumps from the bed and takes a step away from him.
“what the fuck, red?! you’re a fucking murderer, too? where does it end with you?”
“you wanted the truth. it ain’t my fault ya can’t take it,” Red grumbles. Ollie stirs and starts to whimper, so Red picks him up and holds him again, a soothing hand patting at Ollie’s spine. “now lower yer voice before ya wake the baby, ‘n come sit back down.”
Sans watches him for a moment, shocked at the revelation and wondering if this is something he’s ultimately going to be able to sweep under the rug. He knew Red was dangerous, he just apparently didn’t know how dangerous. And yet as he looks at him holding their baby against his chest with a gentle hand, a soft look on his face as he kisses Ollie’s little skull, Sans knows he has no choice but to look past it unless he wants to lose all that. He sits back down next to Red, but stares down at the floor.
“i will talk ta edge about what happened at school. yer right that yer his parent, so if ya’d like ta sit with me when i do it, that would be fine,” Red says.
“okay. thank you,” Sans replies quietly. For a few minutes neither of them say anything, Sans just hangs his head and Red sits there and watches him. Eventually Red puts his arm around Sans and pulls him into his side. Sans rests his head on Red’s shoulder and lets out a sigh.
Once you do something for the first time, it makes it easier to do it again. This is running through Sans’ mind as he thinks about Red’s confession, wondering how many lives his husband has taken but knowing he can absolutely never ask. He wonders if it’s just Red’s nature to resort to violence, or if, like Edge, Red had been through trauma that made him that way. All Sans knows is he’ll do anything he can to make sure Ollie doesn’t end up like that.
As if he was reading Sans’ mind, eventually Red speaks up and says “don’t worry. i ain’t gonna let ollie grow up ta be like me.”
“i didn’t-”
“ya don’t gotta say it, sweetheart. i know how ya feel ‘bout the things i do, ‘n i promise ya ollie ain’t gonna be like that,” Red assures him, pressing a kiss to Sans’ frontal bone. “now let’s go talk ta edgy ‘n see if we can’t make this better so ya don’t gotta stress about it anymore.”
“alright,” Sans agrees.
Red gets up, still holding Ollie, and reaches out a hand to help pull Sans to his feet. Sans accepts the gesture, allowing Red to pull him up from the bed and into an embrace with Ollie sandwiched between them.
“my babies,” Red says softly as he rubs a hand up and down Sans’ spine. For a moment Sans melts into his touch, snuggling into Red’s clavicle and breathing the scent of him in. Sometimes it’s hard for Sans to understand how he can find so much comfort in someone like Red, who has done all the things Red has done. But moments like this just remind Sans how much he loves him.
When Red finally lets go, he leads Sans downstairs where they find Papyrus and Edge sitting on the couch watching some Netflix show about dragons and vikings. Neither boy looks up when they enter the room, not even when Red calls his brother’s name. Finally, Red hands Ollie to Sans and picks up the remote to turn the TV off.
“HEY! WE WERE WATCHING THAT!” Edge protests.
“we gotta talk, boss,” Red tells his brother. “paps, do ya mind goin ‘n playin upstairs fer a little bit? we’ll call ya down when we’re done with edgy ‘n you can finish yer show then.”
Papyrus looks to Sans who nods at him reassuringly, then glances over at Edge who he smiles at in a show of moral support. He hops off the couch and heads upstairs, and it’s only when they hear his bedroom door shut that Red takes a seat across from Edge, who looks more annoyed than nervous. Red motions for Sans to sit next to him so Sans complies, leaning back a little bit to give Ollie a comfortable, reclined surface to sleep on.
“WHAT’D I DO?” Edge grumbles. Red doesn’t say anything for a moment, but instead just sits there watching his brother. Sans eyes Red, wondering if he’s supposed to be the one to start, but just as Sans had worked up the courage to speak up, Red sighs and folds his hands on his lap.
“sans told me ‘bout what happened at school when i was away,” Red starts.
“JEEZ. THANKS SANS,” Edge says, rolling his eyes.
“hey, don’tcha get mad at him. he did exactly what he was supposed ta,” Red tells him.
“SO ARE YOU GOING TO YELL AT ME NOW?” Edge asks.
“no one’s yellin, boss. i’m just tryin ta find out what made ya do it.”
“BECAUSE YOU WERE GONE,” Edge explains. Red gets up from the loveseat and goes to sit next to Edge on the big couch. He puts his arm around his brother and tries to pull him into his side, but Edge wriggles away.
“are ya mad at me fer bein gone?” Red asks him. Edge just shrugs. “words, boss. i can’t help ya if ya won’t talk.”
“YES,” Edge admits. Sans looks over to Red, who has a pained expression on his face.
“i’m sorry, edge,” Red says quietly. “ya know how much i love ya, right?”
“THEN WHY DO YOU LEAVE?”
“i…” Red trails off and looks up to Sans for help.
“edge, sometimes red has to do things to make sure me and you and papyrus and ollie are safe and have all the things we need. sometimes that means going away, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you, and you know i’m always here to take care of you no matter what, right?” Sans explains. Edge ignores him and turns to his brother.
“DID YOU GO TO JAIL?” Edge asks. Sans watches Red’s face go crimson.
“who toldya that? did sans say that?” Red demands to know. Sans’ sockets go wide.
“r-red, i swear i didn’t. you know i would absolutely n-never do something like-” Sans stammers.
“IT WASN’T SANS. THAT’S WHAT ONE OF THE KIDS IN MY CLASS TOLD ME,” Edge interjects.
“why the hell would a little brat say that?” Red asks, still looking at Sans who gives him a nervous shrug.
“HIS DAD SAID THE POLICE ONLY LOOK IN YOUR HOUSE IF SOMEONE DID SOMETHING BAD AND IS IN JAIL,” Edge explains. “WHAT DID YOU DO BAD? DID YOU HURT SOMEONE ELSE?”
“is that why ya drew the picture? cause ya thought i hurt someone?” Red questions, skirting the question his brother had asked him.
“I THOUGHT SOMEONE HURT YOU,” Edge tells him.
“i don’t want ya ta worry about that. no one can hurt me,” Red assures Edge, but Edge does not look convinced.
“THEN WHY DO YOU HAVE A CRACK IN YOUR SKULL?” Edge asks. Once again Red looks desperately to Sans for help.
“what he means is that what you drew in your picture is never going to happen to him,” Sans says. “red is very strong and very smart and he loves us all too much to ever let anything bad happen.”
“OKAY.”
“‘n i promise i’m done leavin ya like that,” Red assures him.
“I DON’T BELIEVE YOU,” Edge replies defiantly. Sans sees Red wince, no doubt stung by that fact that he kind of deserved that response. “CAN I WATCH MY SHOW NOW?”
“not until i know that you know how much i love ya, ‘n that ya know i’m sorry fer upsettin ya,” Red says.
“FINE,” Edge replies.
“‘n i hope next time yer feelin scared or upset, ya’ll talk ta me or sans instead ‘a drawin scary stuff that gets ya in trouble,” Red continues.
“WHATEVER. CAN PAPYRUS COME DOWNSTAIRS NOW?” Edge asks. Sans looks to Red who gives him a nod, then gets up with Ollie to head upstairs.
“i’ll go get him,” Sans tells him with a gentle smile.
When Sans reaches Paps’ room, he finds him laying on his bed looking at one of those ‘I Spy’ books where you have to find hidden objects on the pages. He only looks up once Sans comes in and sits on the edge of his bed.
“you can come back downstairs now, buddy,” Sans says.
“IS EDGE IN TROUBLE?” Paps asks.
“no, no of course not. we just need to talk with him about some stuff, but no one is in trouble. i promise,” Sans assures him. Papyrus closes his book and crawls to Sans’ side. Sans expects his brother to give him a hug, but instead Papyrus puts his head against Sans’ clavicle and reaches out a hand to scratch under Ollie’s mandible.
“HI OLLIE,” Paps says. Sans looks down to see Ollie finally awake, a wide smile on his face as he watches his big brother.
“he really loves you,” Sans tells Paps, who looks up at Sans and grins.
“THAT’S BECAUSE I’M THE COOLEST BIG BROTHER EVER,” Papyrus informs him with a giant smile. “EDGE IS COOL, TOO, BUT NOT AS COOL AS ME.”
“yeah,” Sans agrees. “you’re the coolest kid i know.”
Sans lays Ollie down on Papyrus’ bed, and Paps wastes no time grabbing one of his stuffed toys and giving it to Ollie to play with. Ollie, of course, immediately sticks it in his mouth, but Papyrus doesn’t seem to mind.
“SANS?” Papyrus asks, still looking down at Ollie with adoration in his eyes.
“what is it, bud?”
“I DON’T WANT PEOPLE TO BE MEAN TO OLLIE LIKE THEY ARE TO ME AND EDGE. I’M GOING TO PROTECT HIM.”
“i know you are, paps. he’s really lucky to have a brother like you,” Sans tells him. “and red and i are going to do everything we can to make sure no one is mean to you and edge, either.” Sans gives Papyrus a hug, then picks up Ollie and the toy and says to his brother “come on. edge really wants you to come back and watch your show.”
While Paps and Edge get settled back in for more thrilling dragon and viking action, Red sits in the kitchen feeding Ollie while Sans fiddles around with lunch. Red is quiet, a frown plastered on his face as he spoons sweet potato mush into Ollie’s mouth. Sans puts a sandwich down on the table beside him, then wraps his arms around Red’s shoulders.
“what’s wrong?” Sans asks gently.
“he don’t trust me anymore,” Red laments, and Sans knows he’s talking about Edge. “how do i fix that?”
“i think he just needs time,” Sans says. “he was really worried about you. he came and slept with me almost every night you were gone because i think he was really scared.”
“fuck, sansy,” Red sighs. “he’s already been through so much ‘n here i am just makin things harder fer him.”
“you’re here now, aren’t you?” Sans says, leaning forward to press a kiss to the top of Red’s skull. “that’s what is most important to him.”
“yeah, i guess. but what happens if i gotta leave again? i mean i ain’t plannin on gettin arrested again anytime soon, but i still probably gotta go away fer work. what am i supposed ta do then?” Red asks.
“just... don’t go.”
“it ain’t that easy, sweetheart. sometimes i gotta go make deals with suppliers, sometimes i gotta move product. i can try my best ta make it short but these things usually take time which means i gotta be gone fer a little bit,” Red replies.
“make sal do that part,” Sans suggests.
“i wish i could, babe, but it don’t work like that,” is as far as Red is willing to explain, and as much as he wants to continue to push, Sans knows it isn’t going to get them anywhere. Sans watches Red as he feeds Ollie another spoonful of sweet potato and uses the spoon to clean up the excess that didn’t quite make it in his mouth. “i’m glad edge’s got you, at least. since he can’t depend on me,” Red says sullenly.
“of course he can. right now it’s hard for him to understand it, but when he gets older he’s going to appreciate how hard you worked for him,” Sans comforts his husband. He rests his mandible on the top of Red’s skull and holds him as Red sighs and leans back into Sans.
“thanks, baby,” Red says. “ya always know how ta make me feel better.” He pauses and feeds Ollie another spoonful, then turns and looks at Sans. “are you feelin better?”
“well…” Sans says reluctantly, knowing there’s still one issue that needs to be addressed.
“well what? what’s wrong?” Red asks, turning his body so Sans has his full attention.
“i... well… people were saying things,” Sans starts carefully.
“what people?”
“the neighbors. all the other parents. even the other kids to the boys,” Sans tells him.
“sayin what things?” Red inquires.
“bad things about you… about us. saying they didn’t want to let their kids play with ours and that they should be taken away because you were a criminal,” Sans confesses. Red sighs again and pinches his nasal ridge.
“i’m... sorry ya had ta hear those things, sweetheart.” Sans had expected Red to get mad about it, but really he just sounds defeated. “i really fucked up this time, huh? i’m gonna find a way ta make things better, sansy. i promise,” he adds, but it doesn’t seem like Red believes himself.